Accidents Happen
by Simana
Summary: When a terrible accident occurs, it shatters the peace and stability that has existed within the museum for so long. Will the inhabitants be able to deal with it together, or will one of their members once again face a life of loneliness and mistrust? (Temporary hiatus - but NOT abandoned)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all readers of this story (I hope there are some!) this is my first fanfic, although I've been reading them for years, and so if you see anything that's wrong or something, or looks a bit weird, drop me a message, as I'm still finding my way around. Also, constructive criticism is most welcome. :) I hope you all enjoy this story, not sure how long it will be, or when I'm going to be able to update it, but I'll try my best. Disclaimer: I own nothing :(**

"No. Not a chance. There is no way that is happening."

"Aww, come on dad, please!" begged Nicky. "It'll be fun! They really want to go!"

Nicky Daley had thought this speech through perfectly, right down to the last detail. Every word had been chosen with the utmost care, to present to his father the perfect argument to support his plan. However, Nicky had got no further than the second sentence when his father had quite firmly put his foot down on the subject.

It was the middle of January, and the last two weeks had brought nothing but cold, snow and ice. Although Nicky was supposed to be at school now, following the end of the Christmas holidays, it had been closed due to so many students having difficulty getting there because of the weather, and so Nicky had been able to spend more time with his father, Larry Daley, at his job at the Museum of Natural History. Which was, in Nicky's opinion, the most awesome job in existence, not in the least because every exhibit in the museum came alive every night, thanks to an ancient, magic Egyptian tablet.

Nicky's plan had been to sneak a few of the more inconspicuous exhibits out of the museum for a couple of hours in the middle of the night, so that they could enjoy the snow and have a breath of fresh air. After all, they hardly ever left the museum, and Nicky thought it only fair that they take advantage of a chance at some fun while the other inhabitants of New York huddled inside their homes, trying to keep out the biting cold. However, Larry was not proving to be as easy to convince as his son had previously thought.

"I said no, Nicky, I'm not gonna take the chance of someone finding out about them, not to mention the risks if one of them gets lost, or refuses to come back inside. I'd never be able to forgive myself if I let that happen," Larry replied firmly.

"But I wouldn't take anyone like Rexy or the Neanderthals," said Nicky, "only those who can be trusted to behave, and to not stand out. Besides, the city's not gonna be very busy, and the guys are just so bored in here!"

Larry glanced over towards the main entrance lobby, where the exhibits were currently in the midst of one of their great parties. Atilla was leading a group of Huns in a dance-off against the faceless civil war soldiers, Jed and Octavius were making circuits of the hall in their car, followed swiftly by Rexy, Teddy and Sacagawea were nowhere in sight, and Ahkmenrah was DJing with Dexter perched on his shoulder.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," muttered Larry. Then he frowned. "Did you actually ask them? You said they really wanted to go." "Well..." Nicky trailed off. Larry sighed. "First of all, if you're going to try and organise something, make sure the others actually want to go before you ask, and secondly, duck!" Larry yelled suddenly, pulling Nicky down to the floor just in time to avoid being swatted by the dinosaur's huge tail.

"Sorry Gigantor!" Jedediah called from out the window of his car. "Apologies my liege!" came Octavius' voice. "We miscalculated the sharpness of that last corner!" Grunting, Larry clambered to his feet, and reached down a hand to help Nicky up. "Don't worry 'bout it," he said, "just be careful next time."

"Will do boyo! Giddy on now Octo!" And with that, the little car took off again.

Sighing again, the night guard tiredly ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, Nicky, I know it must be boring during the day at the moment, what with the school closed" _Huh?_ Nicky thought, "but taking the exhibits out is just too risky, and I think they're happy enough in here. How about you call a couple of your friends tomorrow, and see if they want to go snowball fighting or something? You're not going back to your mum's for another few days, so you have a bit of time to kill."

Slightly downcast, Nicky agreed, nodding. "OK, dad," he sighed.

"Hey, c'mon, cheer up, you can still have fun tonight," Larry said. "Why don't you go and help Ahk? It looks as if he's about to lose his crown to Dexter."

Looking over at the young pharaoh, Nicky found it was true; the capuchin had taken an interest in his crown, and was now determinely trying to wrest it from Ahkmenrah's head, the Egyptian just as determinely keeping his hands firmly planted on it. Grinning, the night guard's son raced across the room, nimbly dodging the dancing Huns and soldiers, and plucking Dexter from Ahk's head. Smiling softly, Larry continued his rounds of the museum, hoping to find Teddy at some point, in order to tell him about a couple of minor changes to his exhibit that Dr. McPhee was talking about earlier. However, little did he know that Nicky had far from given up on his idea for an exciting night out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thankyou for reviewing, my fantastic reviewer! I'm glad you thought it started out well! I've added in some TeddyXSac, but there won't be much, as I want to focus on other aspects. I hope you enjoy this next chapter! :) disclaimer: still own nothing. :(**

"Oh my dear, you are without a doubt the most beautiful creature I've ever set my eyes on," breathed Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States of America. "I wish I could turn back time, and release you from your glass prison 50 years earlier than I actually did. I berate myself every day for my cowardice at not having approached you sooner, if only..." Teddy trailed off, losing himself in the depths of his love's lustrous brown eyes. Sacagawea smiled softly, cupping his face in both her hands, before planting a delicate kiss on his lips.

"Please, my Theodore, do not talk so," she whispered. "What matters now is that we are together, and no one, man or beast, will be able to part us." And with that, Sacagawea leant forward, wrapping her arms around her Teddy, and kissing him deeply, both losing themselves in the pleasure of each other's company.

Larry continued his circuits of the museum, growing more and more confused as to the whereabouts of Teddy and Sacagawea. He'd checked practically every corner and corridor where he usually found them, but to no avail, and none of the exhibits that he'd asked had seen them in hours. Frustrated, Larry decided to head down to the security office to grab a quick cup of coffee in order to perk himself up a bit, before continuing his search.

He trotted along the corridor, nodding to the Easter Island head, which earned him a friendly "Hey, Dum Dum", in response, before going down the stairs leading to his office. However, when he opened the door, Larry stopped abruptly, as he realised he'd just found the two he'd been looking for all this time. Teddy and Sac were engaged it what could only be described as full on snogging, both of whom were blissfully unaware of the night guard's presence. Feeling most awkward, Larry tried to subtly turn around and leave, contenting himself to just leave a note or something; unfortunately, the shoes he wore were brand new, and as soon as he started to move, they squealed noisily against the floor.

Startled, Teddy and Sacagawea broke apart, before blushing furiously when they realised they'd been caught. "Ahem, Lawrence my good man!" Teddy smiled, standing and clasping Larry's hand in greeting. "We were only," he stumbled, "I mean, I was just... Uh, were you looking for us, son?" He finally got out, his face an impressive shade of red.

"Ah, yeah, actually I was, Teddy," mumbled Larry, the awkwardness not having quite dissipated. "I wanted to talk to you about a few changes that might be made to your exhibit, nothing dramatic, just a couple of new badges for you, and maybe a new bridle for Texas, he keeps rubbing his head against everything, and now the leather's looking a bit frayed."

"Of course, Lawrence, of course," replied Teddy. Turning to his lady, he said, "My dear, please excuse me. I promise I will return to you shortly." He gave her a final, chaste kiss, before following Larry out of the security office, and down the corridor towards the president's exhibit.

Sighing somewhat discontentedly, Sacagawea hovered in the office, daydreaming for a minute or so, before she also left, intending to find Lewis and Clark, whom she hadn't spoken to in a while. However, she had just turned the corner when some awfully suspicious noises caught her attention.

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"Nicky, are you sure about this?" whispered Ahkmenrah, 4th king of the 4th king, owner of the magic tablet, and current accomplice to Nicholas Daley. "I mean, this doesn't sound like a plan your father would approve of."

"Relax Ahk," Nicky replied, "Dad said it was fine, as long as we don't stay out too long."

The young Pharaoh hummed anxiously, his fingers idly stroking Dexter's fur, who had been allowed to return to his perch on Ahkmenrah's shoulder after promising to leave the royal crown alone. "Then why all the secrecy?" he asked.

"Well," Nicky hesitated, "he, ah, he didn't want all of the others to know, because they'd all want to come too, and then there would be too many people." The lies slipped easily from Nicky's tongue, and he was pleased to see that Ahkmenrah seemed to be gaining confidence with the idea. "Besides, you'd like to go outside, wouldn't you? The last time any of you guys left was to go to the Smithsonian, which was ages ago, and you were left here anyway. C'mon, it'll be so much fun!"

"Well," Ahk said, "if Larry really did say it was OK, then I suppose it's alright, as long as it's just for an hour or so." The young Egyptian's face suddenly split into a wide grin. "I've never encountered snow before!" he said excitedly. "What's it like?"

Nicky laughed, and ran off, dragging Ahkmenrah and Dexter behind him. The other exhibits were too busy partying and having fun to notice when the three of them slipped off.

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Nicky and Ahkmenrah quietly crept down the corridor, knowing that some of the others might not be at the party, and Nicky didn't want to risk any of them telling his father about what he was up to, although he'd already seen Larry leave in the opposite direction with Teddy, so he hopefully wouldn't be back this way in a while.

Once they reached the night guard's office, Nicky pushed the door open, and entered, followed by the pharaoh and the capuchin. Ahk frowned slightly. "Why are we in here?" he asked. "The back exit is further down the corridor."

"I know that," Nicky replied, whose head was currently buried in a closet. "But you're not exactly dressed for winter weather. This is a lost property closet, and there are always coats and gloves and stuff being left behind."

"Oh," Ahkmenrah said, "I had not taken that into consideration."

Eventually, Nicky dug out a variety of winter clothes, and the Egyptian was soon equipped to deal with anything that New York City in January could throw at him, even if his clothes were now oddly mismatched. Once Ahkmenrah was dressed, and his Egyptian clothes safely hidden, Nicky retrieved his own coat from its peg in the corner, and the two of them, plus Dexter, crept further down the corridor, and snuck out of the back exit.

Meanwhile, unbeknown to them, Sacagawea had heard everything. Knowing instinctively that Nicky had lied about getting his father's permission, and inwardly cursing Ahkmenrah's naivety for believing him, she decided to follow them, and try to convince them to return before they got themselves into trouble.

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Nicky took Ahk straight to the small park where he and his school friends loved to play football during the summer, and immediately started to teach him the fine art of building a snowman. Dexter had soon discovered that the cold didn't suit him all that well, and had managed to burrow himself down into Ahkmenrah's coat, curling himself around the pharaoh's scarf, before promptly falling asleep.

Ahk was thoroughly enjoying himself. Although the cold had shocked him at first, having been used to the wonderful central heating system of the museum, he had adapted to it surprisingly quickly, and was now having the time of his life building snowmen with Nicky. He had had no idea that frozen water could be so enjoyable! Another idea was also forming in his mind. Grinning, Ahkmenrah scooped up another handful of snow, moulding it into a rough ball, before carefully aiming it at Nicky's turned back.

Nicky yelped slightly as the snowball struck him from behind, but it rapidly turned to laughter as he launched his own missile back at his friend. Unfortunately, it hit the bulge in Ahk's coat that was Dexter, causing the capuchin to poke his head out of the top, and start chattering angrily, which in turn simply made the two boys laugh even harder. Soon they were chasing one another round and round in circles, each one launching snowballs at the other, and enjoying themselves immensely.

From the shadows of a nearby copse of trees, Sacagawea smiled at the sight of the two youngsters having so much fun. It was wonderful to see the usually quite reserved Ahkmenrah opening up more and more in the midst of their game, and the woman just didn't have the heart to interrupt them when they were so happy. _Perhaps I'll leave them to play for another half an hour,_ she thought, _after all, they're not doing any harm_.

However, no sooner than she thought this, one of Ahkmenrah's snowballs struck Nicky square in the face, sending him flying backwards, where he then lay in the snow, flat on his back. The smiles on both Sacagawea's and Ahkmenrah's faces froze when Nicky failed to get back up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers**! **Thankyou all for reading! Extra special thanks to SummerMistedDragon, Sagittarius-Arrow98, inagaddadavita, and dragonrider2345 for reviews, faves and follows. :) If anyone else likes this story, please fave/follow/review, as they do make me very happy! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from the plot.**

"Nicky?" Ahkmenrah whispered, kneeling by the young boy's side. "Nicky, stop joking, please get up." But Nicky still did not move. Horrified, the pharaoh shook Nicky's shoulder, but when that also brought no response, he gingerly lifted the boy's head, and found that Nicky had smacked it against a rock, that was partially covered by snow, when he fell. Ahkmenrah gasped when he saw the blood that now stained the surface of the snow.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over them both, and Ahk looked up to see Sacagawea crouching down next to them. "Sacagawea?" he said, surprised that she'd followed them out. "How...?"

"Never mind that," she replied, cutting him off. "We must tend to Nicky. What happened, Ahkmenrah?"

"I-I'm not sure," he stammered. "We were chasing each other, throwing snowballs, and then I turned around, and he was falling down. I must have hit him." Ahk looked up at the Shoshone woman, his eyes wide with shock and guilt. "This is all my fault!" he cried. "If I had been more responsible, this would never have happened!"

Sacagawea smiled kindly at him, and rubbed his shoulder soothingly. "It's alright, Ahkmenrah, it's no ones fault. It was an accident. But now we must get Nicky back to the museum, and out of the cold. May I have your scarf?"

The Egyptian stared at her dumbly for a few seconds, before realising what she meant. Quickly, he unzipped his warm coat, causing Dexter to fall out into a disgruntled pile, before removing the scarf and handing it over. Sacagawea took it, and gently placed it under Nicky's head to help stop the bleeding, causing the young boy to moan slightly. "Shh, it's alright," the woman murmured. "Can you carry him, Ahkmenrah, while I support his head?"

"Yes, yes of course," Ahk replied. He scooped Nicky up into his arms, with Sacagawea still pressing the scarf to the back of his head, before setting off in the direction of the museum. Dexter, once he sensed the seriousness of the situation, stopped sulking over being turfed out of his napping place, and scampered after them. The capuchin clambered back up onto Ahkmenrah's shoulder, and stared down at the pale young boy, who was so unlike the normally lively and cheerful Nicky they'd all come to be so fond of.

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"Of course, Lawrence, that's no problem," said Teddy. "I must admit it was starting to embarrass me a bit; a president's horse should look it's best at all times, and Texas is certainly starting to look scruffy in that ragged bridle of his."

Larry chuckled, agreeing. "Everything should arrive at some point next week, probably Tuesday, and if not, Wednesday at the latest. It won't take very long to put on, so it'll be done early in the morning, just before opening time."

"Very good Lawrence," said Teddy, smiling. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to Sacagawea. I fear she'll be most put out by my abrupt departure."

"Yeah, sorry about that, Teddy, I didn't mean to interrupt," Larry apologised.

"Oh, think nothing of it my boy," replied the former President. "It is I who should be apologising." A faint blush was once again creeping up his cheeks. "We should not have been in your private office without your permission, but you seemed in the middle of a discussion with young Nicholas at the time."

The two men had finished their circuit of the museum, and had ended up back at the entrance hall, where the party was still going strong. The Huns had won the dance-off, but had now teamed up with the soldiers in a football match against the Neanderthals and the Vikings. This would have been fine if the cavemen stopped trying to spear the ball.

Looking around, Larry noticed that both his son and Ahkmenrah were absent from the festivities, and asked Teddy if he'd happened to notice either of them whilst wandering around. "I'm afraid not Lawrence," Roosevelt responded. "If we'd passed them, surely both of us would have seen them."

"Yeah, I guess," the night guard said, his brow creasing in thought. "Ahk might have gone back to his exhibit, I suppose, and Nicky probably went with him."

"Yes, it is most pleasing to see them getting along so well," added Teddy. "I keep forgetting how young our pharaoh really is." And with that, he nodded to Larry, and headed off in search of Sacagawea. Larry took a last look around, before deciding that wherever the two boys were, they were probably fine, and walked towards the fossil exhibit to make sure that Jed and Octavius hadn't smashed another ammonite.

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As carefully as he could, Ahkmenrah placed Nicky down on the couch in the security office. The bleeding had stopped, and Sacagawea was looking for some antiseptic wipes in the first aid kit, in order to clean the wound on Nicky's head. Ahk felt awful. It was all his fault, he should never have been stupid enough to go along with Nicky, and now Larry's son was lying here, unconscious, possibly seriously injured, and... Oh Ra, he'd have to tell Larry. Ahkmenrah felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes, as a great sense of shame bubbled up in his chest. After all Larry and Nick had done for him, releasing him after 54 years being imprisoned in his sarcophagus, and then befriending him when so many others had still not trusted him, this is how he repaid them. The young pharaoh just managed to choke back a sob.

Sacagawea returned, and started dabbing at the cut on Nicky's head, wiping off as much blood as she could. She looked up at Ahkmenrah, and softly said, "We must alert Larry, he needs to know." Nodding in agreement, Ahk turned to Dexter, who had hopped up onto the arm of the sofa opposite Nicky to observe the situation. "Dexter," Ahkmenrah began, "would you please go and find Larry, and bring him here?" The Egyptian didn't feel he could face Larry by himself quite yet. With one last look at the unconscious boy, the capuchin jumped off the sofa and scampered out of the room.

Once he'd left, Ahkmenrah sank down onto the floor, and covered his face with his hands, desperately trying not to cry. He had to remain strong for Nicky; it was the least he could do.

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Theodore Roosevelt walked through the throng of exhibits in the entrance hall, intent on finding Sacagawea. He didn't think she would have gone far from the office, so he headed in that direction first of all. As Teddy neared the door, he saw a flash of brown dart past him, and turned to see Dexter scurrying off somewhere. Thinking nothing of it, he called out for Sacagawea. After a brief pause, her voice responded. "In here, Teddy," she said from the office, and Teddy noticed the door was ajar.

"Ah, there you are my dear," he said as he pushed it open further. "I'm so sorry about... My goodness, what happened?" Teddy's eyes widened in shock as he took in the scene before him. Young Nicholas was lying, seemingly unconscious, on the sofa, with Sacagawea washing what looked like blood from the back of his head. Ahkmenrah was there also, sitting quietly on the floor, with his face buried in his hands. He looked up as the president entered, and Teddy could see his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Sacagawea paused in her work to look at her partner, and told him, "There's been an accident, Teddy. Dexter has gone to find Larry."

"Of course, of course," Theodore responded. "But what on earth happened?" Glancing back at the pharaoh, who had once again hidden his face, Teddy was surprised to notice that Ahkmenrah wasn't wearing his usual Egyptian clothes. Instead, he had an odd assortment of a thick winter coat, a pair of trousers that looked at least two sizes too big, gloves and boots. Thoroughly confused, Teddy turned back to Sacagawea, hoping for at least some kind of explanation, but she just simply shook her head, and murmured "Later."

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"For the last time, you two, you can't take Rexy into the fossil exhibit!" Snapped a very annoyed night guard. Larry's suspicions had been confirmed when he entered the fossil exhibit to find Octavius' legions hauling a fair sized trilobite back to its display case. Luckily it wasn't completely smashed, although there was a very conspicuous scratch mark marring one edge of it. "I told you to be careful!"

"Please, my liege, do not blame Jedediah," said Octavius. "The fault is entirely mine. I was driving the vehicle, and therefore I take full responsibility."

"Now hang on Octo," Jed protested, "I ain't lettin' you take all the rap for this. I was there too, so Gigantor can string me up right alongside you." The miniature cowboy turned to face Larry, with hands on his hips, and an oddly defiant expression on his face.

Larry kneaded his temples; he had an increasing headache, which wasn't being helped by the screeching noise created as the trilobite was dragged across the floor. "Look, guys, I don't care whose fault it was, just get this cleaned up, and don't let it happen again." The night guard really needed a cup of coffee.

"Sure thing Gigantor," Jed responded, as he and Octavius turned back to help clear up. "Hell, that monkey's on a mission!"

Larry frowned in confusion for a moment, until he turned and saw Dexter hurtling across the corridor towards him. "Hey Dex," he greeted the capuchin. "What's up, buddy?" Something was clearly agitating the monkey, as once he slid to a stop next to Larry's feet, he started to chatter away excitedly, and kept turning around in circles.

"I think he is indicating for you to follow him, my liege," Octavius suggested.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Larry murmured in response. "What's wrong, Dex? What happened?" This time the monkey grabbed the night guard's trousers, and tugged on them. "I'm gonna have to go, guys," he said to the miniatures. "Are you alright to finish this?"

"'Course, Gigantor," the cowboy replied. "You will never know anything happened here!" Octavius added.

Nodding his head to them, Larry followed the monkey back towards his office, wondering what on earth had happened.

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For several minutes after Teddy arrived, no one spoke. Sacagawea had finished cleaning Nicky's wound, and had wrapped a large bandage around his head. She was now gently stroking his face, hoping and praying that he'd wake up, and be alright. Teddy stood awkwardly next to the door, unsure if he should approach Ahkmenrah, who was clearly very upset by whatever had happened to put young Nicholas into such a state.

He was relieved when he finally heard footsteps echoing down the corridor, and soon Dexter reappeared, followed closely by Larry. As the night guard entered, his first reaction was pure confusion, as he took in the sight of several exhibits gathered in his office; however, this quickly developed into alarm and panic when he spotted his son lying motionless on the sofa.

"Nicky!" he exclaimed, rushing over. "Are you alright? Nicky?" Looking around at the group of exhibits, he asked, "What the hell happened?"

Ahkmenrah had finally stood up when Larry entered, and was the first to answer his question. "It's my fault, Larry," he said, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice. "He took me and Dexter outside to play in the snow, but I accidentally hit him, and he fell and smacked his head on the ground."

Larry finally noticed the clothes Ahk was wearing, and his eyes turned hard with anger. "You went outside with him? When I expressly told him not to?"

Eyes wide, Ahkmenrah stammered, "H-he said that he'd gotten your permission..."

"And you were stupid enough to believe him?" Larry hissed. "I thought you at least were sensible Ahkmenrah!"

"Lawrence," Teddy began, feeling that the young pharaoh had been put through enough. "I'm sure it was no ones fault."

"And you were there, were you?" Larry demanded. His mind was reeling from seeing his son in this state, and he was too upset to think coherently.

"No, Larry, but I was," Sacagawea admitted. "I followed them out when I realised what they were doing, and saw what happened to Nicky. It was an accident."

"Oh you left as well did you? Look, I don't know if any of you actually respect the rules of this place, but I don't have time to sort that out now. I have to take my son to hospital!" And with that, Larry turned around and gently lifted Nicky from his prone position on the sofa. The boy stirred slightly as he was moved. "Dad?" he whispered weakly.

"Shh, hey, it's me ok, you're gonna be fine," said Larry softly. He turned to Teddy. "Could you please make sure everything's sorted out tonight? I have no idea when I'll be able to come back."

Teddy responded with a quick, "Of course," knowing that now was not a time to protest. Nodding his thanks, Larry started to head out of the door, but stopped when Ahkmenrah asked, "Is there anything at all I can do to help?"

The night guard gave the pharoah a flat, unfriendly stare, before responding. "I think you've done enough, don't you?"

Larry left abruptly, leaving the exhibits in the wake of his anger. Sacagawea, Teddy and Dexter all glanced at Ahkmenrah, who stood by the door with his head bowed, tears trickling down his cheeks.

 **Author Note: I know Larry seems just a bit OOC, but I figured he might be like that in that situation. Hope it works. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry this update has taken a bit longer to arrive, I've been away for several days, so haven't had much time to write. I'd also like to warn you that it may be even longer before the next update is ready, as I'm starting exams soon, and I'll be up to my neck in revision, but I promise you that this story will be finished. I'd like to thank Fury (guest), SummerMistedDragon, Sheyla Ryddle, Liger48 and Silvara for the faves, follows and reviews, they really do encourage me to keep writing. :)**

 **Anyway, on with the next chapter, which I hope you will all like :) (Disclaimer: I own nothing)**

Once Larry had left, the four exhibits remained still for a few moments, shocked into silence. They'd rarely seen the night guard so angry, and on the few occasions he was, Larry had never spoken to any of them that way before. _No wonder the poor lad is in_ _tears_ , thought Teddy, looking at Ahkmenrah. The former president had been wincing along with each scathing remark that had come out of the man's mouth, and was quite frankly astonished that Larry had gone as far as he did. Of course, seeing his son hurt like that was bound to upset him immensely, and knowing that Ahk had inadvertently caused it would only make it worse, but to speak to him as if Larry hated him? A young man who was so much like a brother to Nicky? Teddy shook his head in disbelief.

As if this sudden movement reminded Ahkmenrah that he had company, the pharaoh rubbed his face with his hands, wiping away the tears, before moving to the place where Nicky had hid his Egyptian outfit. Rummaging through the draws, Ahk found all the items, and before any of the other exhibits could say anything else, he turned and fled through the door and back to his part of the museum, his footsteps echoing behind him.

Sacagawea released an explosive sigh, and buried her face in Teddy's shoulder. "Oh Teddy,' she murmured. "What are we going to do about this?" The president wrapped his arms around the woman, breathing in the soft scent of her hair, before replying, "Someone should go and talk to our young pharaoh, tell him that Lawrence didn't mean what he said. He was just upset, and people very often say the most regrettable things in the heat of the moment."

Sacagawea nodded, before pulling away slightly. "I wish there was more I could've done to help Nicky," she said. "Head wounds are often much worse than they first appear to be, and I don't think anyone will be able to cope if Nicky doesn't pull through."

"You mustn't think like that," Teddy replied quickly, cupping Sacagawea's face in both his hands. "You did everything you could to help young Nicholas, and he is now going to receive the best care available. I hear modern hospitals can produce some far superior treatments compared to those of my day." Trying to lift their spirits, Teddy playfully twirled with one of Sacagawea's braids, causing the woman to smirk and slap at his hand. In response, the former president leant forward, tilted the woman's chin up, and kissed her passionately. Sacagawea returned the kiss, and raised her hands up to clutch at Teddy's hair. The two were thoroughly enjoying this blissful moment in each others company, until a loud voice startled them apart.

"Woah there lovebirds!" Jedediah shouted, climbing out of the car with Octavius beside him. "You can do all that later. But first, will one of you please tell us what in hell's name is going on?!"

"We followed Larry shortly after Dexter came to get him," the Roman general chimed in. "But as we passed through the hall, he came running out carrying Nicky, and now the whole museum is in uproar because he looked injured."

"And did Ahkmenrah spend a day with the Eskimos?" Jedediah asked. "Cause that sure as hell weren't no Egyptian outfit he was wearing when he nearly trampled us." Folding his arms crossly, the cowboy grumbled, "And he didn't even stop to say sorry."

Looking at each other, Teddy and Sacagawea both decided that they might as well tell the two miniatures, as they weren't likely to let the matter drop. Sacagawea began, explaining that Nicky had taken the pharaoh out of the museum without Larry's permission, and that Ahkmenrah had accidentally hit Nicky, causing the boy to fall, and hit his head.

"What?" Jedediah exclaimed. "Ahkmenrah hurt him?" Octavius too looked shocked, as they'd all come to think of the Egyptian king as rather reserved and formal, a person who took great care with everything he did, that the idea of him becoming so distracted that he'd injured Nicky seemed ridiculous.

"It was accidental," Sacagawea stressed. "Ahkmenrah would never do something like that with any kind of intent."

Of course the miniatures had to agree with that; it was clear to all the exhibits that Nicky and Ahk were particularly close. Although technically four thousand years apart, the age gap between them was small, and so they'd naturally gravitated towards each other, becoming as close as brothers.

Finally, Octavius quietly asked, "Will Nicky be all right?"

"I'm sure he'll be just fine," Teddy responded, trying to reassure himself as much as anyone. In truth, he had no idea if Larry's son would be able to recover or not. The president hadn't seen the injury, and he was no doctor, so he wouldn't have been able to judge how seriously hurt the boy was anyway. What worried Teddy the most was that Sacagawea was also concerned about Nicky's state. The Shoshone woman had acquired a large amount of medical knowledge throughout her lifetime, and the fact that she was also in doubt over Nicky's chances only served to stoke the fear slowly growing in Teddy's chest.

As if sensing his anxiety, Jed said, "Is there anything we can do to help Gigantor?"

"Lawrence already went to take Nicholas to hospital," Teddy replied, "and asked me to help keep order here until his return. If both of you could assist me with that, I'd be most grateful."

"Of course, my liege," Octavius said, giving Teddy a brief bow with his arm folded across his chest.

"Should we try and talk to Ahky?" Jedediah asked. "He looked pretty upset when we passed him."

"I'll talk to him in a minute," Sacagawea said. "But please, don't try and find him yet; I'm not sure he'd want to face a lot of people right now."

In response to the miniature's puzzled expressions, Teddy added, "I'm afraid Lawrence spoke rather harshly to Ahkmenrah earlier." He hesitated, before continuing, "After the shock of seeing his son in that condition, Lawrence blamed our pharaoh for what happened, and he said some things which I'm sure he already regrets. However, it upset Ahkmenrah greatly, and as Sacagawea said, I doubt he'll appreciate an audience until he's more composed."

"Man, what a night," the cowboy murmured, taking off his hat and running his hand through his shaggy blond hair.

"But surely Larry cannot blame him, if what you say is true?" Octavius asked incredulously.

"As I said," Teddy replied, "he was very upset, and I'm sure once he returns he will speak to Ahkmenrah and sort everything out." Giving them all what he hoped was an encouraging smile, Teddy said, "Now, I think we'd better get back upstairs, and reassure the others before chaos breaks out."

And with that, Teddy and the miniatures headed back to the entrance hall to explain the situation to the other exhibits, and Sacagawea went off to find Ahkmenrah, with Dexter following behind her.

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Once Ahkmenrah had collected his clothes, he'd rushed out of the office as fast as he could, not looking at any of the others. He had never felt this bad in all his life; shame, fear and hurt were all bubbling up in his chest, threatening to completely overwhelm him. Ahk had managed to avoid a complete breakdown in front of Teddy and Sacagawea, but it was bad enough that they had seen him crying even a little. The pharaoh had previously prided himself on being able to control his expressed emotions, after spending all his childhood being tutored by his parents, but the look in Larry's eyes when he had spoken to Ahkmenrah had been enough to shatter that.

Ahk almost trampled Jed and Octavius as he raced around a corner, and he could hear them shouting indignantly at him, but the pharaoh didn't stop. Several of the exhibits he passed gave him peculiar looks, and Ahkmenrah wondered how long it would take for everyone to find out what he'd done.

Ahk finally slowed down as he neared the Egyptian exhibit, and nodded briefly to his jackal guards, before tucking himself away in a corner in order to change back into his normal clothes. The pharaoh carefully folded the things he'd borrowed, and placed them in a neat pile, while making a mental note to return them to the security office at some point.

Thinking of that office reminded him of everything that had just happened, and before he could do anything to stop it, Ahkmenrah found himself sliding down the wall, with tears pouring from his eyes. The young Egyptian king tucked his legs against his chest, and buried his face in arms, before starting to sob. Ahk tried to cry as quietly as possible, to avoid attracting anyone's attention, but he eventually gave up, and allowed his emotions to come pouring out.

All Ahkmenrah could see was the cold look Larry had given him before the night guard left with Nicky, and it hurt more than anything else ever had. The person he'd looked up to for so long, who had been the father figure that Ahk had missed for four thousand years, now hated him. _But I deserve it,_ Ahkmerah thought miserably. _I injured his son, maybe even killed him. I'm not fit to be a king of anything._ In a sudden burst of anger and self-loathing, Ahk took the golden crown from his head, and threw it across the room with all his might. However, in that blind rush, the young pharaoh had managed to throw the crown directly at one of the display cabinets, causing the glass pane to shatter into pieces as the heavy object struck it.

Ahkmenrah jumped slightly at the horrendous noise it made, as the pair of khopesh swords that had hung there had also come clattering to the ground. The Egyptian winced as he realised that the majority of the museum had probably heard the racket, and someone was bound to come investigating. Sniffing loudly, all dignity long forgotten, Ahkmenrah clambered to his feet, while doing his best to dry his still watering eyes. Numbly he walked over to the wrecked display cabinet, thinking how much more unpopular he was going to become with the night guard once Larry found out what a mess he'd just made.

Bending down, Ahkmenrah retrieved his crown, noticing with some dismay the large scuff mark marring one edge of it. He placed it carefully on top of his sarcophagus, making a mental note to try and rub the mark out later, before also picking up his swords and placing them next to his crown, relieved to find that they at least weren't damaged after his outburst. Ahk frowned as he tried to figure out what exactly he was going to do with all this broken glass. Following numerous occasions where other exhibits had broken something, which was fairly frequently, Ahkmenrah knew that a plastic bag would just be ripped apart, and that broken glass had to be wrapped in something like paper first. Casting about him in search of suitable material, Ahk's eyes fell on the pile of neatly folded clothes tucked away in the corner, and contemplated using the coat. However, he dismissed that idea quickly, as guilt pricked at him; Ahkmenrah had just been borrowing it, after all, and he couldn't return it if it was studded with fragments of broken glass.

Eventually he decided to just put the glass in a pile, and take it away later once he'd found some old newspaper or something. So Ahkmenrah crouched down, and started picking up the bigger pieces first. However, in his emotionally drained state, the young pharaoh didn't pay particular attention to what he was doing, and was soon snapped from his thoughts by stinging pain shooting through his hands. Surprised, Ahk looked down to find blood oozing out of numerous cuts and grazes on his palms, some of which was starting to drip down onto the floor.

The sight of bloodied hands brought the memory of Nicky's blood back to Ahkmenrah so abruptly and vividly that it triggered a whole new wave of tears, just when the pharaoh didn't think he could cry any more. Shifting position so he could kneel down, Ahk ignored the pain of glass shards biting into his knees, and allowed the sobs to wrack his body, knowing that it would be useless to try and stop them.

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Sacagawea broke into a run when she heard the sound of smashing glass coming from the Egyptian exhibit, wondering what could have happened now. Dexter had returned to the Hall of African Mammals shortly after Sacagawea left, and so she was alone when she reached the entrance to the temple. Slowing down as she turned the corner, Sacagawea found Ahkmenrah sitting next to a pile of broken glass, crying his heart out. A second later she noticed that the pharaoh's hands were bleeding from multiple cuts all over them, and her maternal instincts kicked in.

"Ahkmenrah!" she gasped, hurrying over. The Egyptian glanced up as Sacagawea crouched next to him, his eyes round and glassy, with tear trails running down his cheeks, and offered no resistance when she gently picked up one of his hands to examine it. Looking around, Sacagawea saw the destroyed display cabinet, but decided to deal with that once she'd cleaned Ahk up a bit.

"Larry hates me doesn't he?' Ahkmenrah choked out through his tears, bowing his head once again.

"No he doesn't," Sacagawea replied firmly. "Ahk, look at me," she said. When he ignored her, the Shoshone woman placed her fingers beneath his chin, and gently lifted his head up so that she could look the pharaoh in the eye. "Larry does _not_ hate you," Sacagawea insisted. "What happened earlier was terrible, yes, but it was not your fault. Larry will see that soon enough; he was just very upset, and because of that he lashed out. But Larry doesn't hate you; he cares about you very much, Ahkmenrah, as we all do." Slowly, Ahkmenrah nodded. Sacagawea smiled, and pulled the young man into a tight embrace. The Egyptian tried to return it, but winced and hissed as the movement aggravated the cuts on his hands.

Sacagawea pulled away, smiled again, and said, "Come, let's get you fixed up." Standing up, she took hold of Ahkmenrah's arm and pulled him to his feet, frowning as she noticed more bloodied cuts covering his legs. "Sit here," she instructed, pointing at the edge of the sarcophagus. Ahk obeyed quietly, his cries having died down to slight sniffles and whimpers. Sacagawea then proceeded to gently pull any remaining fragments of glass from both Ahkmenrah's hands and knees, whispering comforts at every sting that caused the pharaoh to wince.

Once she was finished, Sacagawea fished around in her pockets for antiseptic wipes and bandages, which she'd managed to take from the first aid box in the office, thinking it might be a good idea to keep some on her for emergencies from now on. The Shoshone woman carefully wiped and dabbed at the cuts to clean them, continuing to apologise to Ahkmenrah every time he flinched, before wrapping the bandages around his hands. The scratches on his knees were not as bad, so Sacagawea left them be after cleaning them.

"Thank you," Ahkmenrah murmured, rubbing his arm over his finally dry eyes, before gingerly placing his hands on his lap. Sacagawea sat next to him, and put her arm around his shoulders. "You don't think Nicky will recover, do you?"

"What?" Sacagawea exclaimed, surprised at the directness of the young pharaoh's question. "Of course I-"

"Don't lie to me," Ahk snapped, pulling away. "Hiding the truth from me is not going to help." He looked Sacagawea in the eye, before talking in a softer tone. "I'm sorry," he said. "But please, just tell me the truth."

Sacagawea was silent for several moments, contemplating how much to tell the pharaoh. She knew the injury was bad, but Nicky had woken up briefly, which gave her some hope. However, even if he lived, blows to the brain could cause serious, often irreparable, damage. She'd seen too many cases like that to completely rule that fate out for Nicky.

"I don't know, Ahkmenrah," Sacagawea told him, completely truthfully. "I couldn't tell exactly how bad the injury to Nicky's head was, but it was serious." Taking a deep breath, she continued with a heavy heart. "The damage may be permanent."

 **I hope all you lovely readers have enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review before you go, they make me so happy. :) Another thing I'd like to quickly ask you is if you have any suggestions for a better summary for this story? I've tried a couple, but they both seem pretty feeble, which is not good. If you have any that you think might be better than the current one, please either write it in the lovely white box down there, or PM me with it. If yours is chosen, I'll make sure I accredit it to you in the summary box. :)**

 **Au revoir for now! ;)**


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